Samsung to introduce hybrid Windows 8 tablet at IFA 2012

Microsoft tried making its Windows 8 tablets more convenient by introducing a Touch Cover that includes a built-in keyboard, but other manufacturers hope you want even more traditional laptop trappings with your new Windows 8 slate. While a number have teased so-called hybrid or convertible models -- which usually consist of a detachable or hinged tablet and a traditional laptop keyboard -- it's only in recent weeks that they have started firming release plans.

First, Lenovo confirmed a couple of weeks ago that it's introduing the IdeaPad Yoga convertible device for both Windows 8 and Windows RT flavors. Now, Samsung has plastered its Facebook page with an image of what appears to be its Series 5 Hybrid PC with a tagline that implies that more details will be revealed this week at the IFA 2012 trade show starting this Wednesday in Berlin.

Whereas the Yoga uses a 360-degree hinged design that folds the tablet back onto the keyboard section, the Series 5 Hybrid PC lets you detach the tablet and then reattach it via a magnetic dock. According to Engadget, it will possess a screen size of about 11 inches, run on an Intel processor -- meaning that it will use the "full version" of Windows 8 (i.e., no ARM-based Windows RT version) -- and include a stylus like the one used on the recently released Galaxy Note 10.1.

Whether these convergence devices will actually sell remains to be seen, and there's plenty of skepticism about the future success of Windows 8 hybrid portables (including from ZDNet's own Larry Dignan). We already know that tablets running the full version of Windows 8 will sell for several hundred dollars, and adding hinges and magnetic docks will only raise the sticker price on convertible models. Wil there be enough convenience in the hybrid devices to make them worth the extra cost? 

[Via The Verge]